Get Your Hobby On.

I picked up a rush commission last night and, while prepping the models I had a flash of inspired genius. I was thinking of how I might prime and paint the meltaguns separately so I could more easily paint the chests of the marines. I looked to my right at my trash can (hey, divine inspiration shouldn't be questioned, so don't judge me for randomly checking my trashcan for ideas). There atop the empty food containers and other various basement-centric detritus, was a recently discarded sprue frame. The squared shapes and occasional cylinders of spare plastic merged with some paper clips in my brain and, like John Belushi standing in a Chicagoland church, I saw the light!

Some quick snips with the clippers gave me a small workable bit of frame that would sit flat on a surface and resist being scooted by spraying paint. Some easy work with my pin vice and super glue and the Gun Rack was ready for service.

I placed a tiny drop of glue on the end of each peg so the guns wouldn't fall off. Then I cut a bit of cardboard, secured some tape to hold the backpacks and the gun rack, loaded the whole squad out to the garage and gave it a blast of primer.

The accessories are ready for priming.

The whole operation took less than 30 minutes and it can (and will) be reused again and again. This frame is rigged with 5 pegs so it will hold a whole combat squad compliment of weapons. I imagine it will also work well for heads or any other small bits that might need personal attention.

Let me know if you like this idea, or if you have a better system feel free to share. We're all in this together, right?

How to do a Headstand.

So, you've got a head you need to paint, and you want to do an extra good job (say for a competition model or and independant character). You can either glue it to the body, prime it, and paint it along with everything else, OR.... You can use this little contraption. For lack of a better term I'm dubbing it the Headstand. It's super easy to make, and the price is either cheap or free (depending on whether you're a wine drinker or have access to one). All you need is the cork from a wine bottle (sorry, screw-cap drinkers. This one's for the snooty types), and a paper clip. Simply pry the clip apart in a fashion that has half crooked (roughly in an L shape) and the other half sticking out straight at an angle. Insert the crooked end into the cork and bend the rest around it until it holds. It doesn't have to be tight. The cork will hold the wire fairly well.

Once that's done you're ready to prep the head. Grab your handy pin vice and drill a hole in the bottom of the neck. Make sure you drill it deep enough that the head will sit securely atop the paper clip.

Now we're ready for the glue. Dab a little atop the paper clip and seat the head. Turn the head until it's facing in the direction that will be most comfortable for you to hold the stand while you paint. Let the glue set and you're ready to go! Don't worry about the head being attached to the clip forever. With some gentle but persistant twisting the head should separate easily from the stand and be ready for attaching to the model. In the unlikely event that it doesn't you can always snip the wire with your cutters. I've found this little tool to be extremely helpful and I hope you do as well. Please leave comments if you try it, or if you have other ideas that work please share them. Happy modelling!

Mr. Angry Face says, "Paint me NOW heretic, or I shall purge thee with righteous flame!"